Hiccups
by Bilbo616
Summary: Hermione comes home from her fifth year, devastated that Ron doesn't love her. When she gets a summer's job at her family's sandwich shop and a certain Slytherin comes into her life, how will it affect her? Read and Find out!
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger was sitting in a Café in London, the fine summer's sun piercing her skin through the windows. She had ordered a bagel with cream cheese and coffee, and surely her meal was on the table, but it remained untouched in front of her. She was looking at the person sitting across from her, her mother. Instead of listening to her mother's rant about spiders in the house, she was focused on the way her lips would move when she was speaking, the way her tongue would sometimes roll in her mouth every time she said a certain word, the way she would chew her bagel with her mouth closed, the way she would sip her coffee through pursed lips, the way her perfectly white and straight teeth shone. But she just couldn't bring herself to pay attention to the conversation. Hermione had gotten off of the Hogwarts express that morning and her mother took her out for breakfast straight afterwards. However due to previous circumstances, Hermione was in no mood to have a casual conversation with her mother. All she wanted to do at that precise moment was to jump on her bed, bury her face in a pillow, and scream. _Why did she have to end the year on a bad note? _She hated how vulnerable she was right now. This was the reason she had such a hard time opening up to people. Because every time she did, every time she let someone in, that person always ended up stabbing her in the back. And she was sick of it.

Ron and Lavender had started going out in the beginning of the year. She was jealous of course, but she held all of her feelings inside, she didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Besides, she knew that she and Ron would never have a shot at being together. They were only friends and that's how it was meant to be. But then the two love birds had gotten into a fight and Lavender broke it off with him. And immediately, Hermione's hopes flew into the air. She knew that she couldn't be with Ron, but at least now, he would pay more attention to her. And that, he did. She comforted him, and helped him deal with the breakup. She didn't mind having to listen to him babble on and on about his issues. She was just thankful that he came to her for help and that she could spend more time with him. But three weeks later, they had made up and they were back together. Of course, Hermione was upset about this. But Ron still found time to spend with Hermione and she was very grateful for that. So, with a little jealousy still intact, Hermione just made sure that she was always there for Ron. No matter what he came to her with. But then with two months left of school, Lavender cheated on Ron with Dean Thomas. And once again, Ron sprang back into Hermione's arms, but this time, he was devastated. He had even cried once. He spent all his day complaining about how much of a bitch Lavender was and how she had been playing with his feelings from the start of their relationship. And once again, Hermione had been there for him. She was sad to see him so hurt, but a part of her was ecstatic. The selfish part of her was happy that he wasn't with Lavender anymore. Two weeks prior to the end of the school year, Hermione went down to the common room to find Ron and Lavender on the couch, snogging each other's faces off. She quickly ran back up to her dorm room and stared at the floor in shock. This was so not happening. All that time she spent comforting him. All those late nights, sitting in the common room and trying to support her friend. All for nothing? He had gone back to that skank, just like that? Hermione tried to reason with herself. _You're not giving him enough credit! He wouldn't do this! He's better than that… Isn't he?_ But strangely enough, she had given him too much credit. The next week, Ron had barely spoken to Hermione once. It was almost as if Lavender had never cheated on him. Everything was back to normal as if they had never fought. Hermione couldn't understand it. She was furious. How could he do that to her? She was the one that was always there for him and now he was ditching her for the girl that cheated on him? The last week of school, Hermione decided that she wouldn't let it get to her anymore, so she mostly minded her own business. She spent a lot of time with her other friends, trying to get her mind off of it. She had even read Hogwarts: A History twice. But none of it worked. It was impossible to not think about them because they were always right in front of her face. It was almost as if they were flaunting their relationship to her. During meals, they sat on each other's laps. During classes, they would write each other flirty love letters. They were always in the common room snogging. Hermione's last week of fifth year was horrid, to say the least. And now as she sat in the wobbling chair of the Café, staring at her mother, she became angry at herself. This was all her fault. She should have known better than to give someone a place in her heart. She should have learned from past experiences. Before Hermione came to Hogwarts, she had some serious trust issues. Everyone at school would always make fun of her. Every time she made a friend, they always preferred other people from her. Until she decided that the pain she felt wasn't worth it, and instead of trying to make friends, she spent all her time reading. But then she had come to Hogwarts and that had all changed somehow. She finally had friends. Friends that she actually trusted. But maybe she was just being naïve. Ron turned out to be a user just like all the kids from her childhood. He only needed her for help with homework and for comfort when Lavender stood him up. And Harry was spending so much time with Ginny that he barely noticed her existence sometimes. But maybe she didn't need them. She thought about it for a second and realized that they were the ones that needed her. In the past, they had always been the ones to come to her with their issues. But she had never, not once told them about her personal life. She never came to them when she was having problems with her family. She was a strong individual and maybe this would only make her stronger. She decided that she would spend the summer getting over Ron and she would come back next year with more important things to worry about, like her grades.

Just then, she was snapped out of her haze when her mother waved her hands in front of Hermione to get her attention. "Hermione dear," her mother said, a worried expression on her face," are you alright? You've been awfully quite this whole time"

Hermione shrugged "Just tired from the train ride." Before they left the Café, she promised herself that she would never let anyone hurt her this way ever again.

When Hermione and her mother arrived to the Granger's home in Bristol, her father had already baked a fresh batch of cookies and her eight-year-old brother, Alexander had already blown up all of the balloons and put a _Welcome Home_ sign up on the living room wall, above the fire place. Hermione greeted both of them with warm hugs. "Where's Gabriel?" Hermione asked once they were all sitting down at the kitchen table. Gabriel was Hermione's eighteen-year-old brother. She wasn't surprised that he wasn't there. He made it a habit to stay away from family reunions.

"Didn't your mother tell you?" Hermione's dad asked surprised. "Uncle Bart retired and he gave Gabriel the shop."

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked from her father to her mother, and back to her father. _You're kidding!"_ She breathed.

"We were also surprised when they first told us. But it'll be good for Gabriel… He'll learn about responsibility and maybe a few other things along the way." Hermione was shocked to say the least. So that was the reason Gabriel and Uncle Bart were always whispering behind closed doors for a large fraction of her Christmas vacation.

"So Gabriel owns _The Upper Crust _now?" she asked perplexed. "Are you sure he can take on so much responsibility?"

"Well, he's been running the shop for a little less than a month now and he's done a great job. He's hired all new people, two of his friends work there. I think this could be really great for him if he keeps his motivation."

That Evening after Hermione had finished unpacking all of her belongings, she heard a knock at her door, "Come in" she said loudly. The door knob turned and in came Gabriel, her older brother. "Hi" she said to tired to move from her position on the bed.

"Hi" he said awkwardly, remaining close to the door. There was a short silence. Hermione and Gabriel had never been close in any way. When she was younger, he had always been busy, spending all his time with his friends, and boarding school had made them even bigger strangers. Gabriel's relationship with Alexander was a lot stronger than his relationship with Hermione. "So," he paused for a moment, going over what he wanted to say. "I don't know if mom or dad told you, but Uncle Bart-"

"Yes, I know." Hermione interjected.

"Yeah, so anyway, I was thinking that maybe you could work at the shop this summer…I need another waitress" He finished with a gulp. Hermione could tell that it was difficult for him to ask her for a favor. "Since you're family, you'll get payed extra and I'll get one of the other workers to help you out at the beginning… you don't have to. I was just-"

"When do I start?"

Gabriel grinned "Is tomorrow good for you?"

That night, as Hermione lay in her bed, dark thoughts swirling through her head, she took a second to think about Gabriel's offer. Maybe this could be good for her. It would certainly take her mind off of her problems at school. She wouldn't be up in her room all summer rereading all her school books. Maybe she would even meet a cute boy to take her mind off of a certain red headed demon. But then she reminded herself of her promise not to get close to anyone. But what was the harm in a little flirting to make herself feel better? She would NOT get too attached. Never again.

The next morning, Hermione was woken by Alexander banging harshly on her door. "Mione! Mum and Dad say you have to wake up! They're making breakfast!" Hermione groaned and turned over on her bed.

"Alright Alex, tell them I'll be down in five minutes" she said, exasperated.

She sat up in her bed and stretched her arms. She had slept rather well compared to the past few weeks at Hogwarts. Her body hadn't been this relaxed in a long time. She lazily got dressed in a casual shirt and jeans and went to her bathroom. When she arrived at the Kitchen, breakfast was already prepared on the table.

"Gabriel told us that you decided to work for him at the shop?" Her parents questioned her. She simply nodded and continued picking at her food. "He says that he wants you there before lunch."

Hermione helped her mother with the dishes, sat down with Alexander and listened to him babble on about his class's Easter party, and finally left the house. _The Upper Crust _was in town and her house was a five minute walk away. She was used to going there. When she was little, her Uncle would always take her and Gabriel with him to work. He would always tell them that they were his good luck charm and in a way, they were. All the customers were so impressed by them that they would always return. Sometimes they would even help him with ideas for new sandwiches. He would always ask them what they liked in a sandwich and whatever they said, he would put as the children's meal. They boosted his profit.

When Hermione entered the shop, it wasn't packed, but there wasn't a shortage of customers either. "Hermione!" Gabriel was calling her over from behind the counter. "Okay, so here's a note pad" He put one in her hand.

"I'm nervous," She admitted, bouncing around on her heels.

"Don't be, you know all the orders already." He said leading her to the worker's only station behind the counter. "Besides, I told you that I'd have someone show you the ropes. Draco!" Hermione froze in place. She followed Gabriel's gaze and her eyes met the back of a very shaggy, white, blonde's head. _It couldn't be! _But it was. The Blonde turned around and her eyes met with a very familiar face. Malfoy's expression mirrored hers when he saw her. They stared at each other and Hermione could faintly hear Gabriel in the back of her head, introducing them, but she wasn't listening. _How did this happen? Malfoy works for her brother? Was this a dream?_

"Hermione… Did you hear me?" Gabriel said loudly, looking at her in confusion. Hermione moved her eyes from Malfoy to look up at her brother. "I was saying that Draco would be showing you how to get around here for the next few days until you get the hang of it."

"What? Malfoy doesn't work here, does he?" Hermione said, unable to grasp the concept.

"Do you two know each other?" Gabriel questioned, looking back and forth for a reply.

"Yes. Gabriel, he goes to Hogwarts!" Hermione said in a hushed voice so that Malfoy wouldn't hear her. This was not happening. This summer job was supposed to get her mind off of Hogwarts and help her get over Ron. Not lower her spirits further.

"Oh!" He looked back at Malfoy. "So you're a…you know…" When Malfoy nodded, Gabriel seemed giddy. "That's brilliant! This is great; I was worried that you two wouldn't get along. It is such a small world." Gabriel said in appreciation.

"Gabriel, can I speak to you privately?" Hermione asked desperately.

"It's going to have to wait. Uncle Bart's going to be here any minute. He wants to talk to me about some business changes." Before he left through the door, he turned and said, "Get started soon, customers are waiting." And they were left alone.

Hermione turned back around to look at Malfoy. He looked different from the way he looked at Hogwarts. More relaxed. He didn't walk around like he owned the place. His hair wasn't glued down to his skull. Instead, his bangs fell over his eyes. He was wearing the _Upper Crust _Tie around his neck. After inspecting him, Hermione looked back up and met his eyes. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she said harshly.

"It's an assignment for muggle studies…Professor Burbage is making all the students find muggle jobs for the summer. It's supposed to teach us about how muggles spend their day to day." He drawled in an uninterested tone. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Well," Hermione fumed. "This shop has been in my family for generations. Since 1922, actually. I'm so sorry to disappoint you, but I'm going to have to let you go" She said, turning around with the intention to walk out the door, but before she could, a warm hand grabbed her upper arm and brought her back around.

"You can't sack me, Granger" Malfoy said dangerously, but Hermione just stared at him calmly.

"Remove your hand" she whispered. And he reluctantly let her go. She gave him one more scathing look before turning back around.

"Granger" Malfoy called after her. "I really need this job. Professor Burbage will fail me and I won't receive my full Newt scores next year.

"I'm not interested" She said, before she pushed the door open and walked out.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Malfoy cursed and kicked a cardboard box in anger.

He was so screwed. He was already on a thin line and now he was dangerously closer to failing his Newts and getting thrown out of Muggle Studies. _Why had Professor Burbage chosen for him to work at the shop that just so happened to be owned by Hermione Granger's family. Urgg! _This summer was supposed to be his break from his family and shallow Hogwarts peers. He had even secretly enjoyed working her for a while. Nobody knew him and he didn't have to put up the Malfoy mask on. He finally had a break from that to be whoever he wanted to be. But Granger had to go and ruin that. God, he hated her. He took in a ragged breath to calm himself down and fixed the mess he made with the box on the floor. Maybe this wasn't over. Maybe he could speak with Gabriel after the meeting and tell him that he really needed this job. Gabriel had seemed like a cool guy, despite being a muggle. It was rather ironic actually. Yesterday, Gabriel had informed him that his younger sister might come and work here and Draco had agreed to help her around. He had thought that maybe he could even get in her pants while on the job. He shook his head in disgust. He was in way over his head.

When Hermione had stormed out, she went straight to her Uncle Bart's now Gabriel's office. They were both sitting down in chairs speaking casually when Hermione came in. Her Uncle Bart immediately greeted her and asked her how her how she felt about the new job. She answered him with a smile and turned to Gabriel. "I just sacked Malfoy" She informed him urgently.

Gabriel stared at her for a moment before he answered. "You mean Draco?" he asked. "Why?"

"Gabriel, I don't think you understand the level of severity of this situation. Malfoy and I do not get along well." She told him. Uncle Bart laughed and Gabriel looked at her in displeasure.

"Hermione, I don't care if you don't get along with him. He works here and that's it. I'm the manager. I decide who stays and who goes." Gabriel said angrily.

"No, you don't understand… we hate each other! I can't work with him." She argued.

"He's staying" Gabriel said, closing the subject. "This could be good for you, you can make a new friend." Hermione tried to argue again, but her brother cut her off. "Go tell him he's staying and get to the customers."

Hermione groaned angrily and left the office, slamming the door behind her. She knew that she was being childish, but she didn't care. She rushed back into the worker's only station and surely, Malfoy was there pacing the floor. "You're hired again" she said agitated. Malfoy just stared at her in confusion "Now are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to show me how to take orders?" She said in a raised voice.

"Wow, this must be really embarrassing for you…" Malfoy sneered at her, and it took all of her emotional strength to not turn around and attack him.

Lunch Break couldn't come fast enough for Hermione. Malfoy was being an insufferable git, treating her like a baby. _How dare he! This was _her_ family's shop! _She almost slapped him across the face twice in that hour. She was eating her usual sandwich, sitting at her usual table, and just then, Malfoy came out for break with his own sandwich. He didn't acknowledge her existence which she was grateful for. He sat at a table in the corner of the shop and bit into his sandwich. Hermione noticed that he had grown taller. She had seen him everyday at school of course, but she had never taken time off to actually look at him, and she had to admit that he wasn't so bad looking. He was actually rather attractive. She had to share a dorm room with Lavender Brown and Padma Patil and she had constantly had to listen to their discussions about the males at Hogwarts. When they would boast about how HOT Draco Malfoy was, It took all she had not to run to the nearest toilet and empty her stomach. But now that she saw him, she noticed his strong and defined jaw structure. She noticed the way his stormy grey eyes melted with heat when he was angry and the way they became greener when they shone with laughter. She noticed how full and juicy his lips looked, she was caught in a trace as she watched his use his teeth to bite into the sandwich. She closed her mouth to avoid drooling. She looked down at his body and noticed how his shirt would cling to his firm abs. _Damn, Malfoy had good looks!_ She looked back up at him and his eyes met with hers. _Shit! _She panicked. _Had Malfoy just caught her checking him out? _ Her questions were answered when he smirked suggestively, and raised an eyebrow. Hermione quickly stood up and cleared her tray, getting back to work.

Malfoy was still eating so she grabbed her note pad and pen and went to a table in which sat a girl that looked about her age and an older woman, most likely, her mother. "Hello!" Hermione said kindly, the hint of a smile on her face, "How can I help you today?"

Draco grinned to himself as he went to table five and put down two sandwiches on the table. He was finally finished with work. Today had been such a drag. He was glad that Granger had stopped needing his help halfway through the day. He didn't appreciate having to be in close proximity to her for the duration of the day. It was bad enough he had to see her disgusting mudblood face. He though about that for a second and internally sighed. He didn't really think that Granger's face was disgusting. She wasn't ugly, he realized after studying her for sometime that day. Her hair wasn't uncontrollably frizzy anymore. Actually, today, it looked rather nice; her curls nearly reached her mid-back. Her eyes were large and innocent. The way they shone when she was angry actually turned him on a bit. Her lips were tempting to say the least. He knew that he shouldn't be having these thoughts about Granger, but he didn't see any harm in it. She was a girl, he was a boy. Of course he would be attracted to her. Even if she was a filthy mudblood… Draco went to the Employee bathroom to wash his face. He couldn't wait to jump on his bed and sleep until the morning. This day had taken a lot of energy from him. He was drying his face when the bathroom door opened and in came Granger, her hair now pulled into a messy bun. She walked in, unaware that anyone was in there until she looked up and saw Draco there.

"Oh, Sorry" She squeaked, "It was unlocked. I didn't know you were in here." She hiccupped, covering her mouth with one hand and reaching for the door with the other.

Draco looked amused. "What was that?"

Hermione turned back around. "What was what?" she asked, hiccupping again.

Draco actually laughed. "It seems that you have a mild case of the hiccups." He told her in delight. She just stared at him with her lips slightly parted, when again, she hiccupped. "You know what helps get rid of hiccups?" he asked turning serious and taking slow steps towards her.

"What?" She asked perplexed.

Draco kept inching towards her until she was up against the door and their bodies were almost touching. "You have to hold your breath for thirty seconds" He answered and Hermione could barely get out an "Oh," before his lips came into contact with hers. Her body stilled underneath his at first, but after the shock passed, she moaned into his mouth and started to move her lips with his. She had the softest lips, just like he had imagined. And when she moaned, it was all too much for him. He placed his tongue where her lips parted and she opened her mouth to allow his tongue entrance. Draco grabbed her waist with one arm, crushing her body to his and pulled roughly at her hair with his other hand. Granger put her arms around his neck and drew him closer to her. But when she hiccupped again, they were both brought back to reality and Granger pushed him away. His arms withdrew from her body and he stepped away.

"It didn't work," She hiccupped. Tears were brimming in her eyes without her realization. She was too shocked by what had just happened to notice.

Draco cleared his throat, "Well you can use the bathroom" he told her quietly. "I'm done here." And with that he reached behind her and walked out of the bathroom. Hermione's legs were shaking and she walked over to the sink to wash her face. _What had she just done? She had kissed Malfoy! Wait, no… Malfoy had kissed her. But she had kissed him back. Oh My God! She had just snogged Draco Malfoy, the boy that she hated. The boy that had called her a mudblood for the past five years. The boy who could possibly be in league with Voldemort. _Hermione quickly ran to the toilet and squatted over it to empty her stomach.

When she had mashed her face again and composed herself, she walked out of the Employee's Restroom praying that she wouldn't run into Malfoy again. She looked down as she made her way into Gabriel's office. She was thankful that he was in there alone.

"Hey, I was looking for you." He told her, pushing his chair in and straightening his desk. "I was just about to close up." Hermione walked back home with Gabriel and his two friends, Tiffany and Connor. Tiffany worked in the back as the Chef and Connor was the Cashier. But they had passed both of their homes on the way, so Hermione and Gabriel were left alone.

"So how was your first day?" He asked her casually.

"It was okay." Hermione said weakly. She was so exhausted.

"What about Draco, did you two get along today?" Gabriel asked her, trying to hide his amusement.

Hermione looked up at her brother, annoyed. "We got along just fine." She said harshly "Thanks a lot for taking my side"

Gabriel raised his eyebrows at her. "Come on, don't be mad at me!" He said trying to catch up to her because she had started to walk away from him. "He looks like an okay kid. There's no reason why you guys shouldn't be friends."

Hermione's stomach was squirming again "Can you just drop it?" she said before she could throw up the remainder of her stomach acid. "I don't want to talk about it." They walked the rest of the way home in silence. Hermione toppled over her bed and she was asleep before she even had the opportunity to contemplate the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco woke early the next morning in his large room. He hadn't slept well that night at all. He was in and out of sleep all night and at one point, he had even gone to his bathroom and before he could get to his toilet, he was sick all over his tile floor. He had collapsed there for a few hours, cleaned up the mess when he had woken and dragged himself back to his bed. When he sat up in his bed now, his entire back was sore from sleeping on the floor half the night. His body felt completely drained. Draco knew that he would have to leave his bedroom eventually and work started in a few hours, so he reluctantly got up and walked himself to his shower. As the boiling water eased his back muscles, and he soaped his skull, he let himself think about the events of the previous day. He had actually found Granger attractive. She had come into the Employee's bathroom and the look of surprise on her face was so tempting. He wanted to turn it into a look of pure lust. When she hiccupped, it had taken all his inner strength to not walk over and shag her against the bathroom door. He held it in… that is, until he couldn't any longer. What was wrong with him? How had he let that poor excuse of a wizard fill all of his senses? Draco was no stranger to sexual intercourse. He had had sex for the first time after the Yule Ball with Pansy Parkinson and after that, they had been together a few more times during their fourth year. She was under the false impression that they were dating, but Draco knew exactly what he wanted and a relationship was not on his list. He told her to stop following him around like a little puppy dog. She had screamt at him, of course. She told him that he would regret dropping her. But he most definitely did not. After he dumped Pansy, other girls had come to him. And who was he to refuse? He had given all of them what they had wanted and many had come back for a second or third time. But once they got clingy and demanding, he dropped them too. What had happened to casual sex, no strings attached? God, he hated woman. They were all so emotional. If there was one thing Draco hated more than commitment, it was expressing his feelings. At a young age, Draco's father, Lucious had taught him that Malfoys do not express emotions. Draco was taught to close himself off from any type of feelings. Feeling was a sign of weakness and vulnerability. And even though Draco's father was now rotting away in Azkaban, and Draco could care less about him, he had stuck to his teachings. But Draco had never chased anyone before. He never had to since all the girls were so willing. Sure, in the past, when he had needed release, he had gone to find someone to help him, but it had never come to the point where he was forcing himself on someone. He thought back to last night… He was the one that had come onto Granger. And she was the one that had pushed him away before it got too heated. He knew that she would probably have kept going, but he couldn't help but feel rejected. This entire situation was completely fucked._ What would his father say if he found out about this? What would his mother say?_ _What would the kids at school say? _ Maybe Draco would shag Granger out of his system. Maybe tonight, after work, he would call up Daphne or Astoria Greengrass to help him out. Who knew, maybe he would even call both of them. As Draco stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his midsection, he couldn't help but reminisce about the way Granger's lips had felt against his.

When Draco arrived at work that morning, his mask was on. If you looked at him, you wouldn't think that he was frustrated or that he had thrown up twice, last night and this morning before work. You would think that he was casually going to work on an ordinarily boring day. He was secretly relieved that Granger hadn't arrived at work yet and as soon as he let Gabriel know that he had arrived and put on his work tie, Draco immediately began work. He looked calm and collected, but on the inside, he was bouncing up and down. He hated that he was feeling this way. He hated this feeling of unease. And more than anything, he hated that _she _was the one that was creating these feelings within him. Draco was explaining to Tiffany, the Chef, what the family at table 7 had ordered and when he had turned around to get her three tomatoes from the refrigerated room in the back, he spotted Granger. She was in the process of pulling her work tie around her neck. She looked so flustered and impatient when she couldn't get it. Draco couldn't help but stop for a minute to look her up and down. She wore the black button down shirt that all the employees had to wear. It was tight against her chest and torso and she had tucked it into her jeans. Draco imagined loosening the tie around her neck and unbuttoning her shirt to reveal some cleavage. He walked away from the scene before she could catch him looking. As he grabbed two perfectly ripe tomatoes and brought them back to Tiffany, he thought: _You know what… Fuck blood purity and fuck appearances. I'm Draco Malfoy and I get what I want. So if want to shag the living daylights out of Granger, then I will. _

Hermione succeeded in avoiding Malfoy throughout most of the morning. When Lunch time came around, she went out for her break. However, today, instead of eating a sandwich like she did yesterday, she exited the sandwich shop and walked across the street to buy herself a cup of tea to ease her headache. She sat at a vacant table and tried to clear her head. She was three days into summer vacation and it was already looking down for her. As if her original problems weren't bad enough, they were now intensified by Malfoy. She hated him with a passion. Hermione was the smartest witch of their age, but she wasn't experienced at all when it came to sex. Sure, she had had a thing with Viktor in her forth year. They had snogged a few times, but he had liked her more than she had liked him and that threw their relationship off balance. They had agreed to remain friends. Of all the people Hermione thought she would be snogging, she would never have guessed that Malfoy would be in the selection. Even though she had told herself that she didn't need Harry or Ron anymore and that she could be independent, she couldn't help but wonder what they would think about this whole scenario. They would most likely be disgusted. She knew that Ron would never speak to her again. But fuck Ron. It wasn't as if he spoke to her anymore anyways. Would he even care if he found out? Probably not. He'd be too busy with Lavender to worry about her. Life stinks.

With twenty minutes left of her break, Hermione left _The Coffee Shoppe. _She went to sit on a bench behind the sandwich shop so that she was completely out of sight. Damn, she really needed a cigarette right now. Last summer, she had bought a pack with her next door neighbor, William. They were the same age and were practically born together, though they never talked during the year. Anyways, the cigarettes had always helped her calm down. William and Hermione had a lot of fun together, keeping it a secret from their parents. Despite what everyone at Hogwarts thought about Hermione, even she stepped out of line sometimes when she was feeling rebellious.

Right on queue, Malfoy turned around in the corner and found Hermione sitting there. She looked up at him with a sneer. "What do you want?" she said loudly, her tone suggested a warning behind her words.

"I just came to talk" Malfoy said, raising two hands up, innocently.

Everything about Hermione's demeanor from the way she was holding her body rigidly to the way she was looking at him said one thing: GO AWAY. But, Malfoy being Malfoy he decided to take it as an invitation to sit down besides her. Hermione moved over to get some personal space. "How can I help you?" She asked gloomily.

Malfoy chuckled darkly. "Would you really like me to answer that?" It took Hermione a moment to understand what he meant, but when it clicked in her head, she sprang to her feet.

"You are the most disgusting, most vile, poorest excuse for a human being…." She went on ranting about everything that she hated about Malfoy and he calmly listened until she was out of breath. "Say something!" She said heatedly, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

The corners of his mouth turned up. "I sense that there's something that is making you upset…" He said matter-of-factly.

Hermione's cheeks warmed as her blood rushed to her face in anger. "I'm a pacifist." She said, trying to speak calmly. "If I wasn't I would have hit you a long time ago."

And at that, Malfoy actually laughed. She had never seen him laugh and if she hadn't been so angry, she would have thought that his laugh was very appealing. "arggh!" she groaned, stomping her foot in anger. She waited until his laughter died down before she muttered "I hate you"

"Really? Because last night, it seemed to me like you were actually enjoying my presence." He said the remains of laughter on his face.

Now Hermione's face was a shade of crimson. "It seemed to me that you were enjoying it more than I was." She said venomously.

Malfoy laughed again. "Can you blame me?" He said, looking deep in her eyes. "You're not so bad looking."

Hermione was now flustered. "You've been teasing me about the way I look nonstop since first year and all of a sudden you change your mind?" she paused and before he could get a word out, she put up her hand to stop him. "Don't answer that… I'm having enough issues as it is and I'd really appreciated if you stayed away from me." She said before turning the corner back to reality.

That night after Hermione had tucked Alexander into his bed, read him a bedtime story, and gave him a goodnight kiss; she put her sleep clothes on and got under her own covers and for the first time in a long time, she let a few tears stream down her face. Hermione wasn't the type of girl that cried about stupid things like boys, but at the moment she felt so hopeless that she allowed herself to cry, just this once. Everything was going wrong for her.

The next week at work was exhausting. Everyday, Hermione would start work at ten in the morning and end at seven in the evening. Gabriel still hadn't found more waiters, so her shift lasted all day and frankly, she wasn't sure if she could take another week. She wasn't sure that she had it in her to continue smiling at all of the customers everyday, when she wanted to do the opposite of smile. She was sick of being nice and sweet. She needed to punch something. She knew that it wasn't okay for her to take all her frustrations out on the job, but she couldn't help it. She had no other way to release her anger.

On Wednesday she had gotten a beefy woman as a customer. She asked ten questions about each sandwich and in the end she bought four sandwiches all to herself. "Is that all?" Hermione snapped at the lady through narrowed eyes.

The lady looked up at her and said "Is that a fat joke?" Gabriel had to drag her away from the table before the cat fight could start. He took her to her office and gave her a talk.

"Hermione, I've been noticing that you've been in a really bad mood ever since you got off school." He told her. When she didn't answer he continued. "Your bad attitude is affecting everyone around you, including me… If you have a reason for all this anger, then take it out on the original source. That lady didn't do anything to you. She simply ordered her sandwiches."

Hermione didn't answer him. When she left his office, she had the urge to crawl somewhere where she could be alone and burst into tears. But she didn't. She had no reason to feel sorry for herself. If anything, she should be feeling sorry for the poor lady who she had just insulted. She hated the way she was behaving and she wanted to change it, but she couldn't. She couldn't change her attitude because she had no idea why she had an attitude in the first place. Of course there was the Ron situation. But when she actually thought about it, she had blown it way out of proportion. Ron could spend time with whoever he wanted to. She couldn't control him. Then there was the Malfoy situation. And that's when she realized that her attitude, her anger, it was all coming from one source. She was angry at herself. She was angry at herself that she couldn't be enough for Ron. She was angry at herself because everyone had chosen others over her. Even her two best friends. She was angry at herself because no one in this world seemed to appreciate her. She was angry at herself because she had allowed Draco Malfoy to kiss her because for a second, she thought that it would make her feel better about herself. Instead it just made her feel ten times worse. It made her hate herself even more. And now she loathed herself because of the way she had been treating everyone around her.

Malfoy had respected what she had asked of him behind the shop and he gave her space.

Saturday while cleaning the plates off of table six, Hermione's name had been called at table nine. "Just a second" she said, quickly setting the dishware in the large sink and speeding back out to get to the table. She took her note pad out of her pocket and clicked her pen before looking up and saying. "Hi, how can I help you?" There were two girls sitting at the table Two girls who looked very familiar to Hermione.

"Hermione! It has been too long" The blonde girl said, while the brunette snorted under her breath in appreciation.

Hermione suddenly recognized them. "Dianna, Chelsea… It _has _been too long." She said stiffly. Those two girls had gone to school with her from first grade up until she went to Hogwarts. They had been among the girls who had bullied her all those years. She hadn't seen them for a good three years. "What would you like to order?"

"Hold on a second, slow down. We haven't seen you for years; tell us about your new school. Do you have friends?" Dianna asked humorously.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a lot of tables to get to, so if you could tell me what you'd like-"

Dianna cut her off mid-sentence. "I remember you were always such a freak. Always sitting in the back of the classroom with a book." Dianna boasted. Hermione opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again. She felt humiliated.

"Are there any other waiters? There was a really cute one when I was here last week." Chelsea said. Hermione wanted more than anything to tell those girls off. To tell them that they had no right talking to her like that. But at the moment, she felt too weak to produce any words. She turned around to walk away and heard them snickering behind her. Hermione went to the kitchen in the back of the shop out of eye sight and threw her notepad and pen across the room in anger. She was shaking. She looked over to the other end of the kitchen and saw a blonde head disappear into the _Employee's Only_ restroom. Her self-confidence was currently on a dangerously low and she needed something to help her boost it up. She didn't care about the consequences. She hurried to the door in which Malfoy had disappeared and got inside.

Draco Malfoy was in the _Employee's Only _ restroom, washing his hands, when the door opened violently and in came Granger. Draco gasped underneath his breath and not because Granger had just interrupted him in the bathroom, _again_. No, he gasped because he had never seen Hermione Granger look so broken. Her eyes were red with unshed tears, her face was pink, the way her eyebrows furrowed. He had seen her angry many times before, but he had never seen this side of Granger. As soon as her eyes connected with his, she closed the space between them. She grabbed him by the shirt and brought him down until her lips smashed into his. His back hit the wall as she continued to devour his mouth. Draco was confused to say the least. He could tell that she was putting all of her angst into this kiss. After a minute of hesitation, he decided: _ah, what the hell?_ He had been wanting to that for the past two weeks. Why did it matter what her reasons were for throwing herself at him? So he slung his arms around her waist and brought her closer to him. His tongue rubbed against hers and Hermione was suddenly tugging at his shirt, trying to bring it up out of his pants. Draco was surprised by this gesture. He had thought that Hermione Granger was a total prude. But he didn't stop to ask. He didn't care much. He withdrew his arms from around her waist so that he could help her with his shirt. Once it was loose and out of his pants, she brought her hands underneath it to feel his stomach. She drew her hands up from his toned abs to his shoulders. Their tongues were still joined when Hermione started to unbutton his shirt. He helped her out by loosening his tie and throwing it to the ground. There lips parted while she was working on his buttons and Draco moved down to kiss her neck. He grabbed her hair and took out the hair tie. He liked it better when it was down. He was sucking on her collarbone and she was moaning. _Fuck he loved that sound!_ When his shirt was laying on the floor along with his tie, Hermione looked down at his body, tracing his muscles with her small fingers. They were both breathing hard. Draco brought her shirt out of her pants in one swift tug and he unbuttoned it. It had taken him half the time it took her out of experience. When her purple brassier was exposed, Draco looked up at Hermione. She nodded in response and he started kissing the top of her breasts, As he made his way closer to the lining of the bra, his hands went to her back to unclasp it. He removed it from her and threw it to the floor also. Now her Breasts were exposed to him. And she was a bit shy. She moved her arms over them, covering herself, but Draco looked in her eyes.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of…" He told her. "You're perfect" and he swiftly took her arms and put them at her sides before her bent his head and put one of her nipples in his mouth while stroking the other one. Hermione grabbed his hair and moaned in response so he continued, switching his mouth over the other one.

"Oh, Malfoy!" She moaned, her head resting against the wall behind her, and her back arching. Draco continued using his tongue but he moved his hands to caress her stomach. One of his hands reached lower and he started to unbutton her jeans, but then she brought her hands down to stop him. He straightened his back and looked at her with lust-filled eyes.

"I'll make you feel good," He said in a husky tone. She looked worried, so he reached for his wand in his shirt pocket on the floor and stood back up. "I can cast a contraceptive spell." He offered. And she nodded, so he pointed his wand at her stomach and muttered some kind of incantation. Then he went back to kissing her neck while his skilled fingers unbuttoned her jeans. He let her slide her jeans off while he unbuckled his own belt and she helped him with his pants. Hermione was standing in her underwear and Draco was standing in his boxers. "Are you sure you want this?" Draco made himself ask to avoid any misunderstandings. When she nodded, he captured her lips again in a heated kiss. His hand was playing with the elastic of her panties He slid his fingers under them. He could feel her arousal. He gently massaged her clit with his thumb while searching for her opening with his pointer fingers. When he found it, and slowly entered her with his long finger, she moaned into his mouth and grabbed him by the hair, pressing him closer to her. After a minute of further stimulation, when she was reaching her peak, Draco removed his hand from her and stepped back.

Now it was her eyes that held all the lust. She put both hands on his shoulders and brought him back to her for another kiss. He kissed her back but they separated quickly so that she could take her panties off. Hermione helped Draco with his boxers, and once they were both completely naked, Draco crushed her against the wall. He gave her a few more kisses before his lips trailed down to her neck. He left kisses all along her jaw line down to her collarbone and then to where her neck connected with her shoulder. Hermione moaned and pushed him closer to her, trying to show him what she wanted. Their eyes met for an instant and she nodded. Draco placed one more kiss on her lips before he started at her opening. He held her eyes as he pushed into her. She whimpered in pain and he stopped halfway in.

"No, keep going." She said, closing her eyes tightly. When he pushed in further, she winced again, but didn't say anything So Draco pushed his full length inside of her and then stopped to catch his breath. _Man, this felt great. She was so tight. _All he wanted was to thrust in and out of her until he would reach his climax, but he knew that he couldn't do that. He could tell that she was having a hard time adjusting to having his member inside of her. She took a few calming breathes before opening her eyes again. He slowly pushed halfway out and back in, shuddering. He did that a few more times, going in a faster pace each time and soon, Hermione met his thrusts, arching her back and digging her nails into his back in ecstasy. Draco leaned forward to bite her neck in the place where he had left a mark earlier. That drove her to her release and as her walls came clasping tightly around him, he released into her. They stood there for a moment trying to catch their breaths. Draco's arm was on the wall, supporting him. When they're breathing slowed, Draco pulled out of her and went to fetch his clothes from the floor and Hermione followed after him, wanting to cover up her exposed figure.

They dressed in silence and once Draco was finished he cleared his throat "I should get back…" And with that, he left her in the bathroom. Hermione finished tucking her shirt in and went to the sink to look in the mirror. Her lips were puffy and red, her eyes large and alert. Her hair was messy and she quickly put it up in a bun, and bent down to wash her face. She looked back up at her reflection and jolted to the toilet, before she could stop herself, she threw up.

She had gone into the bathroom after Malfoy with the intentions of making herself feel a little better. But now, she felt worse than ever. As she flushed the toilet and stood back up on shaking knees, it hit her. She had just given her virginity to Draco Malfoy in the bathroom of her work place. The same bathroom that she had used when she was a little kid. In her Uncle's sandwich shop. With _Draco Malfoy. _She shivered.

Once she had composed herself and straightened her clothes, Hermione mustered the strength to walk out of the restroom. She glanced up and saw that Malfoy had gone to take table nine's order. Dianna was touching his upper arm, and Chelsea and her where giggling.

Hermione tore her eyes away from them and walked into Gabriel's office feeling very weak. Gabriel was sitting behind his desk looking at some papers. "Gabriel, I don't feel well." She said hurriedly.

"What's wrong?" He asked getting up from his seat in concern.

"I'm just feeling really light headed…" She said holding her breath to avoid being sick again.

"Alright, go home and rest. I'll take your place" He said, straightening his papers.

Once Hermione was out of the sandwich shop and away from curious eyes, she threw herself on the sidewalk and cried. But this time it wasn't just a few tears that escaped her eyes. No, this time, she cried so hard that she had to clutch the stitch at her side. Every sob shook her whole body and they were uncontrollable. She couldn't stop.

**I hope you guys liked this chapter. I put this one out a day after the first chapter. However, I'm flying to the states for summer vacation next week, so I don't know when the next chapter will come out. Hopefully soon, but don't worry, I'm going to spend a lot of time brainstorming ideas. It would also be really nice if you guys could like me a review on your opinion. What I should do with the story, how I could change it. I need your opinions. Thanks **


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